3 or 4 stripe damsel alternative

[steveo9043]

So my mother has really gotten into the fish tank since I set it up. She unfortunately really likes damsels and especially the 3/4 stripe. She says they look elegant.

Currently I have 2 blue green chromis, 2 ocellaris clowns and 1 yellow headed jawfish. Tank is a 72 gallon bow with CPR refugium and skimmer.

 

[betamed]

Bangai cardinal

 

[dzfish17]

So my mother has really gotten into the fish tank since I set it up. She unfortunately really likes damsels and especially the 3/4 stripe. She says they look elegant.

Currently I have 2 blue green chromis, 2 ocellaris clowns and 1 yellow headed jawfish. Tank is a 72 gallon bow with CPR refugium and skimmer.

There is nothing wrong with liking damsels... they are great fish if kept in the right set up. The problem that I see is people trying to keep them with other docile fishes.

Damsels have gotten a bad reputation here on RC and most of the time its from inexperienced aquarists that dont understand fish compatability. Most of the damsels are very aggressive and need to be kept with other fairly aggressive fish.

You shouldnt have a problem adding the 3 or 4 stripe with the tanks current occupants (maybe a little problem with the chromis). From my experience the chromis will probably stay in the upper portions of the tank and be left alone. Here are a few others that I would consider compatible tank mates... neon dottyback, azure/yellowtail damsel, sixline wrasse.

In an aggressive tank like this the fish will chase each other around until a pecking order is established (allmost like african cichlids). Once they settle down everything will be fine (until you add another fish) as they are all tough enough to hold their own.

 

[Ambition]

Completely agree with Dave!

I had a 3 stripe damsel about a year and a half ago in a 125 with a sergeant major damsel and full grown male clown. The clown believe it or not, was the clear king of the tank. Due to the fact that the sergeant major damsel was larger than the 3 stripe it was second in line.

I had no aggression in the tank, but you could see they had the pecking order. I sold off the fish later and tore down the set up as it wasn't built rift from when I got it off of CL. So if done right, damsels are great fish. Not many fish out there that are as blue as some of the damsels available.

 

[steveo9043]

The blue damsel is another fish that she likes.

I have done my research into having them in the tank. Was going to add some more base rock and rearrange when I add the damsels so everyone can recreate there territory. Then I have read people saying even that won't help.

 

[o2manyfish]

There are some really neat damsels that are available...

In my collection of fish I have the classic blue damsels which really are great looking fish. I have 2 for the past 4 years and recently saw them spawning. Also the Fiji blue damsels with the royal blue body and orange tail are nice.

Starkii Damsels are very striking fish, but these can get pricey.

Stegassi, these are white, black and yellow. They stay at about the 1" size and they get along well with others.

Yellow damsels - Just like the classic blue but yellow. There are two kinds of this fish, one is a pale canary yellow which are reasonably priced, and then there is a dark golden colored one, which is very cool, but very hard to find (I haven't found one yet).

I picked up a damsel which I don't know the name of but the front half of the fish is Yellow and the back half is lavender.

There are lots of really unique and colorful damsels you can add to your tank. They all are active fish and with enough they keep each other in line.

Dave B